magnifichathttps://magnifichat.org
Fri, 03 May 2019 23:01:59 +0000en
hourly
1 http://wordpress.com/https://s0.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngmagnifichathttps://magnifichat.org
Memorization…but that’s boring!https://magnifichat.org/2019/05/03/memorization-but-thats-boring/
https://magnifichat.org/2019/05/03/memorization-but-thats-boring/#respondFri, 03 May 2019 19:41:06 +0000http://magnifichat.org/?p=1504I have been thinking a lot about recitation since our homeschool recitation night is coming up. I found a great article on Charlotte Mason Poetry called Ruminating on Recitation. There were some great summaries and examples included of what it is supposed to look like and the purpose it is meant to serve. Thank you to the author Maria Bell.

I don’t think most of us have a super exciting idea in mind when we think of recitation.

This is my narration of the article above. I don’t propose to know what I am talking about or that I have summarized it accurately.

But just what is recitation? Is it the age old boring process of memorizing things? I don’t think so. Is this tedious practice even something that that is older than the school system that we have known for the past 200 years? Perhaps there are times that this memorization for the purpose of memorization is necessary (choral pieces, catechism, etc), but on the whole I think it wasn’t. Charlotte Mason certainly didn’t think so.

What is it for?

1. Recitation is a path to vital knowledge, whether the child is engaged as a reader-practitioner (doing) or as a listener/learner (hearing).

2. It is NOT just learning facts, without having them infused with the ideas that inform them. “…a child’s mind is no mere sac to hold ideas; but is rather, if the figure may be allowed, a spiritual organism, with an appetite for all knowledge.” (Mason) Unlike many who believe that children have all the knowledge within them that they need for life, I agree with Mason who believed that just as we have everything within us when we are born to digest food, children also have everything within them needed to digest knowledge, if like food it is put before them. This is distinct from the idea that children are born with all knowledge in them that just needs to be drawn out.

3. When someone has memorized something through the process of recitation, it does not mean that the person is just a mere sac holding space for these ideas. These ideas, once in our minds, are like the food we digest – constantly being ruminated upon and digested to become nourishment to our souls, as food nourishes the body. Recitation helps to increase the depth to which we take in the written or sung piece, holding the idea there in our mental library book stacks for our perusal . Charlotte Mason wanted young people to understand ideas, through living books or living poems, art and ideas, by knowing them at their very core.

How is it done? “A committing to memory without labour by listening to or reading a text aloud regularly” (Mason).

1. Recitation is the frequent reciting and reflecting of something (poem, song, oral speech, saying, psalm, etc), for the purpose of carrying it with us, digesting it, considering it, sharing it. Memorization may or may not happen in this process.

2. It will likely be the habit of memorizing without a tremendous amount of work. Like so much else, it is learned by the way. When kids are young, a parent may read while the child is colouring, playing or before bed. Maybe over lunch….just by the way. As they become of school age, there will be set opportunities during a 10- 15 min of recitation at least three times a week (this has worked for us). The piece is read to the student, the student may ask about it, and soon the child is encouraged to read it for herself. At each recitation lesson another opportunity presents itself. Before long, the student is barely looking at the page. In this way we can say that our student has learned a poem without the conscious process of memorizing. “The gains of such a method of learning are that the edge of the child’s enjoyment is not taken off by weariful verse by verse repetitions, and also, that the habit of making mental images is unconsciously formed.” (Charlotte Mason).

But what if this doesn’t happen??

Charlotte Mason assures us it is unlikely the child’s fault. The piece might be too hard and thus the process becomes laborious or even impossible, like asking a baby to chew and digest a tenderloin. It’s beyond them. Something that challenges the student, while also remaining within their realm of decent handling, is best.

3. The piece should be read to the student first of all in a way to bring out the beauty, humour, or whatever quality the piece illuminates, 3 or four times (likely different lessons) until they think they know it and want to try it (they likely don’t know it all by this time). At this point they are ready to try it themselves each lesson until they have it.

Here is a great example from one of my favourite movies, The Nativity Story.

What to recite?

Charlotte Mason writes that until six let the child pick up what he likes of what she hears along the way, then “let the poems [or other such material suitable for recitation] be simple and within the range of his own thought and imagination. (Mason, Home Education).

Does it have to be something they understand?

There has to be a balance here. How much of what we read, do we understand every word or turn of phrase? Not much. On the other hand, how quickly do we completely become disinterested when it is beyond our ability or interest. In general, the majority of the piece should be within their comprehension with little explanation necessary. However, there should be parts that they have to wrestle or grapple with.

Here I am again. Two years later. Let’s cut to the chase. So — we are homeschooling. While I had dreamt of unschooling and running through fields of green grass all day with my children (here where there is snow 10 months of the year) I figured the novelty of that might wear off eventually.

So I have decided to give it a a real shot – Charlotte Mason style. If you don’t know who she is yet, you will if you keep reading my blog or are bored enough to follow me on instagram.

Her philosophy of education has become synonymous with her name. In a way, it is too bad that her educational philosophy got named after her (because indeed it is far older than her and it makes it look as though I’m following some victorian guru no one has ever heard of, especially here in Yukon). It’s really about providing a feast of “good food” for your child’s mind. It’s not delight driven education, because if I never expose my child to medieval weaponry, pet care, or botany, how will she ever come to know if that is what she truly loves, and never knew it until that moment we opened a most special book about it. But it’s also not endless unit studies, because that is part of the reason we are not in school.

At a Kids on the Farm outing

Exposure to really good words, poems, songs and art is a big part of what I’m doing here.

Today we were enjoying the summer weather on our way to homeschool improv theatre class (no joke) and we were listening to the audiobook version of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter. You know something different is happening on the Prairie than in most school rooms we know when this passage comes up. A little intro: Laura and fam have been twiddling their thumbs (literally twisting hay to feed the fire as that is the only fuel they have left). It has been a fierce winter and Laura has not been able to go to school.

“Every day Laura found time to study a little. When enough hay was twisted to last for an hour, she sat down by Mary, between the stove and the table, and opened the school-books. But she felt dull and stupid. She could not remember history and she leaned her head on her hand and looked at a problem on her slate without seeing how to solve it or wanting to.

“Come, come, girls! We must not mope,” Ma said. “Straighten up, Laura and Carrie! Do your lessons briskly and then we’ll have an entertainment.”

“How, Ma?” Carrie asked.

“Get your lessons first,” said Ma.

When study time was over, Ma took the Independent Fifth Reader. “Now,” she said, “let’s see how much you can repeat from memory. You first, Mary. What shall it be?”

Now before we continue with what happens next, let me reiterate that they open her Fifth Reader. Fifth grade. Grade 5. Here we go. Mary chose first what she is going to read. Wait no. What she is going to recite. She is blind, so she must have a better memory than the rest of us. I’ll give her that.

“The Speech of Regulus,” said Mary. Ma turned the leaves until she found it and Mary began.

“‘Ye doubtless thought—for ye judge of Roman virtue by your own—that I would break my plighted oath rather than, returning, brook your vengeance!’” Mary could repeat the whole of that splendid defiance. “‘Here in your capital do I defy you! Have I not conquered your armies, fired your towns, and dragged your generals at my chariot wheels, since first my youthful arms could wield a spear?’”

The kitchen seemed to grow larger and warmer. The blizzard winds were not as strong as those words.

Laura goes on to choose a poem called Tubal Cain. Before you go to look it up (as I had to), I’ll save you the work. It’s a 19th c. Poem by Charles Mackey. It’s about a descendent of Cain from the Bible who was a metal worker. It’s a long poem for a fifth grader…well, even for me.

The girls remember every word correctly. Ma praises them and says Carrie and Grace will have their turns for recitation the next day. Carrie is maybe 6 and Grace is likely 3. That’s right —Grace is a preschooler.

When I heard this chapter in the car my first question was, “What’s the ‘Speech of Regulus’?”. Then, “Who was Regulus?”. Then, “What is the Speech of Regulus doing in a reader for a fifth grader?”

While I was impressed by the recitation I am no longer surprised by the fact that those young women could recite that much, In gently adhering to a casual Charlotte Mason inspired pre-school program, my kids listen to a lot of poems. Most days they always ask for a reading of The Cremation of Sam Mcgee. And even my three year old will start mumbling stanza after stanza while staging play mobile guy fights in the corner.

I’m not here to judge but I’m guessing that The Speech of Regulus is not in any fifth grade reader in Canadian schools, and even if it was, I would likely be in the same position as many of the students: not able to understand it on first reading. Some might accuse Laura of just being a puppet but upon closer reading we see that she did know it. She understood it.

Pondering life while taking in the view

I’m not getting my kids to listen to poetry just to memorize it, but to remember it (as one homeschooling teacher put it). To remember it for that time, one day down the road when my kid has his heart broken, his friendship fail, or is in prison (totally possible – my kids will make their own choices). Or more positively, to have the poetic words to express their moments of joy. Or to ponder silently the poem they know, and the situation they one day find themselves in. That they are not alone, because someone else has felt this before. Do with it what they will.

My favorite novel is The Count of Monte Cristo. The main character, Edmonton Dantes, spent 14 years in prison for something he didn’t do. I suspect he had more things to think about (because he had them memorized) than some lines from Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Outlander. We never know when we may need to feed on that stored literacy fat, that good food for the soul, when we have nothing else to feed our hearts, like companionship.

So here’s the rub. I’m doing this homeschool thing for me, as much as for my children. I was given beautiful tastes of true education from my parents and a some good teachers along the way. They led me to good, true and beautiful literature and fed my desire for learning, helping me begin making the connections between all things. But there is a lot I still want know and understand. Particularly about the natural world. There are far too many things I am not able to tell my kids about when they ask questions (What is story that goes with that constellation? What part of the animal is this bit of bison from? What tree is that? What flower is that?) I know I will never be able to answer them all, nor should I.

But maybe, I’ll just start with learning about The Speech of Regulus (I understand it is in the Defeat of Regulus) myself. I know I am going to love anything with the words “Splendid Defiance” in it. As Ysabeau likes to say, “I’ll get goosebumps”.

I know this route isn’t for everyone and Ethan is still in the school system so I will continue to get the best of both worlds – I hope.

The question is not, — how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education — but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?

~Charlotte Mason

]]>https://magnifichat.org/2018/06/06/what-was-in-your-fifth-grade-reader/feed/0IMG_3015mpdavisIMG_3005IMG_3045.JPGIMG_302351RvqurGSYL._SX334_BO1,204,203,200_IMG_3069{F131BA51-D3AD-4C64-B22D-9B4A05FC5F77}Img400.jpgHaines and Back Againhttps://magnifichat.org/2016/07/22/haines-and-back-again/
https://magnifichat.org/2016/07/22/haines-and-back-again/#commentsFri, 22 Jul 2016 03:15:11 +0000http://magnifichat.org/?p=1420We have been enjoying a great visit from Ian’s parents from Northern Ireland. Skype has been a fantastic tool to help the kids connect to these great folks even though we are so far away from them. So when they arrived, it didn’t take long for the kids to get to the important stuff right away — duplo, stories and chocolates.

We just got back from four days in Haines Alaska where we stayed in a lovely place that overlooked remarkable glaciers and a mud flat inlet that gave lots of food for the soul and playtime.

Ysabeau is asking to return to the “fluffy house” and I am guessing this is in reference to the giant bear hide hanging on the wall and the shaggy carpets all through the bedrooms. Fluffy.

We celebrated Ethan’s 11th birthday with some cake and family games. I highly recommend the game Bellz! game for great dinner table fun for all ages. We got this for him and it has more than earned its keep in the games drawer already.

Xav now goes into serious photoshoot everytime he sees an iphone or camera. As soon as you pull it out he is running over screaming “CHEEEEEEEEEESE”.

I got some fantastic mail the other day from an old college friend. She has taken up a highly underrated skill – calligraphy.

She practices everyday and has integrated this discipline into the daily tasks of life. She composes her groceries list while practicing her pen. She writes down her spiritual thoughts for the day carefully in the script of the day she wishes to work on. Wonderful.

Above, you will see I commissioned her to pen the Ignatian practice of the daily examen for me so that I can have it at my kitchen window while I do the dishes.To see more of her work visit Amielou Creative

I have definitely enjoyed the bounty of a warm summer in Yukon. The greens keep-a-comin’! Below you see a comfrey plant that is almost half the hight of the tree beside it. It actually provides shade to the seat beside.

Ysabeau was determined to help me in the garden one day and proceeded to dress very similar to myself. However, she got tired of wearing her hot winter boots very quickly!

We had the honour to attend our neighbour’s wedding this past June. Kathryn and Bryan are such special people and they had just the celebration to reflect their union.

It was out at her parents newly built rural home and since there was still some landscaping happening around the place, the kids managed to find huge pikes of dirt and started some version of what seemed like the Hunger Games, until dinner was served. Some great opportunities for dancing!

I am still working on the bread-making which I realized does kind of lose its luster in the summer when you want to keep the kitchen cool. But I can easily get eight loaves at a time now which is fantastic.

Ethan has been home from school and doing the odd camp here in there. But usually the pace has been slow when family isn’t visiting and we take the time to stop and watch the diggers…

…or drink tea.

I love giving this kid a haircut so I can see his handsome face!

This summer has delivered some great hot days for much needed beach time.

June highlights hit an all time high with a visit from Auntie Rhi and Master Duplo Builder, Spencer. We had great fun getting to know Spencer (who Xav followed around with pieces of Duplo every minute of the day) and enjoying the sun with these crazy cats.

]]>https://magnifichat.org/2016/07/22/summer-lovin/feed/0Version 2mpdavisIMG_0027IMG_0029IMG_1314IMG_1305IMG_0102IMG_0111IMG_0046IMG_0044IMG_1223IMG_1213IMG_0014IMG_9724Pretty, Happy, Funny, Realhttps://magnifichat.org/2016/06/10/pretty-happy-funny-real-2/
https://magnifichat.org/2016/06/10/pretty-happy-funny-real-2/#commentsFri, 10 Jun 2016 04:52:34 +0000http://magnifichat.org/?p=1253I knew it would take me a while to get my groove on – the music is slowly warming up my muscles. Things are going much better. The weather is getting warmer, we are getting out, and dinner is getting made …I count all of these as successes and I am only responsible for two out of three.

{pretty}

A walk in a spring Yukon small forest +meadow.

{happy}

I have discovered that kids love nothing better than throwing rocks into the river with a friend.

___

And we all know that true happiness is a great sleep. As Ethan and I come to the end of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, I was thinking about poor Ol’ Lord Rhoop who Caspian found floundering in the waters of the Dark Island : a place where all your dreams come true, including nightmares. He struggles to come to himself again once rescued and only finds true rest when given a long dreamless sleep. So true.

Build and destroy. Our neighbour Bryan played way to many rounds of this -what a good sport!

Splash parks – need I say more.

This recipe book was not always coiled. A colleague from my last place of work let me know about this great service offered at Staples. For just more than a ten bucks, you can get your favorite recipe book coiled so you don’t have to prop it open! Happiness!

{funny}

Hide…

And Seek.

“Oh I just can’t wait to be KING!” or “The simba song”.

A friend gave us coconut and Ysabeau has been obsessed with shaking it each night before bed!

First swim of the season. 15 degrees maybe.

{real}

They are eating all my apples!!!

This one of Ethan below is real because it was take during Cub Scout Camp and I don’t think he even knew it was being taken! Why doesn’t he do this at home? Love it.

Returning home full-time to be with kids is like running a marathon. In fact, its like running a marathon with little training, just because you “have done it before”. You end up crossing the line looking like you aged 35 years and have osteoporosis ( I know because I have done it).

Well, everything hurts in this “home-race”. I forgot what it takes. I love it, but I am building up some serious scar tissue.

The kids are growing and have their own idiosyncrasies talents that make a full day at with them at home with them very interesting:

Xav grunts for everything. He reminds me of Sloth from the Goonies. And like Sloth, he is kinda cute and I even understand him.

Ysabeau assures me that any idea she has is “gonna be just fine mom” or “you don’t need to worry” or “just count to five if you are frustrated”.

Ethan, without a malicious bone in his body, is in a stage where he really can’t retain any instructions I give him, so I find myself having the same conversations with him most days

Ysabeau still loves playing pretend, above all other things. While the Christmas story has wained in popularity (six months later) the other day she did insist: “I be Mary and you be Joseph and let’s get on our Unicorn”. Fantasy and super heroes are certainly taking centre stage right now.

She painted this picture and told the drop-in preschool teacher that it was Princess Leia in the top corner, a light saber in green in the left corner, and various other galactic characters she only hears about from her brother. All bright pink. Perfect.

I have been reading The Chronicles of Narnia out loud to Ethan. I love reading mid- twentieth century British kids stories to him, especially because so much is lost on him (and me), and ultimately becomes humorous.

We are reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader which obviously take place on a ship.

At one point a sea serpent is threatening the ship and the paragraph reads:

And now the real danger was at hand. Could they get it over the poop, or was it already too tight? Yes. It would just fit. It was resting on the poop rails. A dozen or more sprang up on the poop. The sea serpents body was so low now that they make a line across the poop and push side by side… “An Axe,” cried Caspian hoarsely, “and still shove.” Lucy, who knew where everything was, heard him where she was standing on the main deck staring up at the poop.

And more poop.

Despite having to google what a “poop” is on a tall ship, for Ethan (and for me), and reminding him that its the end of the ship near the tiller, we both can’t help but giggle every time the word comes up ….and it always does, in quick succession.

But I am also slightly embarrassed at how little my British kids fail to meet British ship-knowledge standards. I remember visiting British friends one summer in the south of England and their boys, 2 and 4 at the time, were playing ship games and were shouting directions to each other using words I can only pretend to understand like “starboard”, “stern” and “aft”. I thought I should start telling people I was from the colonies.

Well, we now know what the “poop” is….we can start adding nautical words to our repertoire.

Lewis is delightfully politically incorrect as well. He writes almost mockingly about the parents of a very spoiled child (and the child too) in this book and describes them thus:

They were very up-to-date and advanced people. They were vegetarians, non-smokers and tee-totallers and wore a special kind of underclothes. In their house there was very little furniture and very few clothes on beds and the windows were always open. Eustace Clarence liked animals, especially beetles, if they were dead and pinned on a card. He liked books if they were books of information and had pictures of grain elevators or of fat foreign children doing exercises in model schools.”

Basically he doesn’t seem to like people who are into fads. I had to laugh because he clearly doesn’t like minimalists, and I have kind of bought into it. I wonder what he would think of Marie Kondo.

I was going to “Marie Kondo” these out of the house but who can get rid of “Star Wars: Wookie Cookies Cookbook”. I’m keeping them. C.S. Lewis would be proud.

He has a point though. I gave away any bridesmaid dress I ever wore. Ysabeau would otherwise have been deprived of dressing up like this but thanks to a good friend, she was given a selection of old keepsakes to play with. What delight!

But words are a funny thing and I realize just how hard it is to truly grasp any language, especially when living with a child who is ESL.

I have been telling Ysabeau not to say or do some things simply because (for expediency) – “it is inappropriate”. Ethan has now taken to telling on Ysabeau when she is doing something wrong by shouting loudly “MISAPPROPRIATION!!”

Saying goodbye to our Working-Holiday nanny Elise.

Ethan teaching the padawan

As I am adjusting to the rhythm of life at home again, I thankful for an article a friend sent to me called The Domestic Monastery.

While I thought about equating home life to the “poop” on the ship (it really does seem to be where all the important stuff and any action happens on a vessel), this analogy is probably better.

I have spent a lot of time considering these words and letting them be a balm for my mental world that seems frustrated by this adjustment.

For example, the mother who stays home with small children experiences a very real withdrawal from the world. Her existence is definitely monastic. Her tasks and preoccupations remove her from the centres of power and social importance. And she feels it. Moreover her sustained contact with young children (the mildest of the mild) gives her a privileged opportunity to be in harmony with the mild, that is, to attune herself to the powerlessness rather than to the powerful.

The principles of monasticism are time-tested, saint-sanctioned, and altogether-trustworthy. But there are different kinds of monasteries, different ways of putting ourselves into harmony with the mild, and different kinds of monastic bells. Response to duty can be monastic prayer, a needy hand can be a monastic bell, and working without status and power can constitute a withdrawal into a monastery where God can meet us. The domestic can be the monastic.

My stepmom once told me (before I was a Catholic) that if I had been raised a Catholic, she thought I would have become a nun.

Well, in a way I am!

]]>https://magnifichat.org/2016/06/02/life-in-the-poop-not-that-kind/feed/6mpdavisIMG_0045IMG_0115IMG_1142IMG_1154IMG_0106IMG_0025IMG_0021IMG_1053IMG_0103IMG_1150IMG_0007IMG_0098IMG_0072IMG_0048IMG_0086IMG_0081IMG_0031A Very Messy Worldhttps://magnifichat.org/2016/04/27/a-very-messy-world/
https://magnifichat.org/2016/04/27/a-very-messy-world/#respondWed, 27 Apr 2016 06:23:20 +0000http://magnifichat.org/?p=757I am enjoying the first signs of spring here. We have had such good weather that I can happily walk into my living room at the end of the day and wonder why there is no little mess – no toys on the ground, no crumbs on the floor, no books off the shelf. The kids play outside most of the day until dinner.

We have quite the rabble of kids in our cul-de-sac. So many that Ethan (the eldest of them all) was able to organize a lightsaber tournament (some of the young ones haven’t seen Star Wars but they were happy to be given saber lessons from Ethan the week before).

Sometimes they all just go round and round the cul-de-sac on their bikes. It actually reminded me of circling crows that I have begun to reference the gang as a ‘murder’ of children, looking as they do like a murder of crows.

Or sometimes I have started to call them “The Garbage Pail Kids: Next Gen”. They like to hang out in front of our house next to (or on!) our great lawn ornaments – compost and garbage bins.

I have so enjoyed the clean house that I forgot about spring mud. I will have to accept dusty floors with dead grass everywhere as well.

I had to laugh while reading The Tale of Tom Kitten to Ysabeau before bed last night. Earlier in the day she had come in with very mucky hands claiming to be Tom Kitten. In the story, Tabitha (Tom’s mum) is so mad that she “smacks them” (him and his siblings) for their messy appearance, lies to her guests and tells them the kids “have the measles” and leaves them in bed. Oh Beatrix!

But don’t worry. The kids have the last laugh. “Somehow there were very extraordinary noises over-head, which disturbed the dignity and repose of the tea party”.

My kids all know how to cause a great ruckus (see hole in my pysanky egg – obviously poked) ….

….have a very proper tea party…

…and clean up nicely!

Xav and Ysabeau are becoming good friends. Xav has learned how to walk, and even lets himself be cuddled sometimes.

Catholic feast celebrations (why not!) continue in the house. Our German part-time nanny Elise reminded us that “Name Days” are still very popular in Europe and pointed out that Ysabeau’s was coming up. Her middle name is Bernadette and she shares that with Bernadette of Lourdes.

If you are going to feast then feast! I used up all the Rice Crispies and marshmallows I could find to come up with this pinterest success. The healing waters of the Lourdes grotto were a big hit and a little painted peg doll of Bernadette.

A friend put us on to a great game called Rhino Hero. Ian and I laugh that, really, a couple of friends were sitting around one day (Ian imagines after one too many drinks) trying to figure out how to make money off of building towers with a deck of cards. Presto. The simplest ideas are always the best!

Some fun twists in this game make it a real winner with everyone. Recommendation: remove destroying toddlers from the mix.

Ethan loves his Tron t-shirt because he thinks it’s “majestical” – which I agree works for the image on it.

He also reminds me daily to chill out. He asked if they could paint the other day and I was enjoying the clean house too much and said “No. Its too messy.”

His calm retort: “The world is a messy place, Marlon”.

Indeed it is. So I let them colour with washable markers on the window instead.

The time is coming soon when I will be home again full-time with these rabble-rousers. I am very much looking forward to it but like so many parents at home will struggle living without (or with very little) of those motivators that are often more readily available in the workplace or in society outside the home.

Affirmations. Confirmations. Approvals. Praise.

I recently read a great article on how so many of us, including myself, are worried about missing the “big things” that we need to do in life.

So what if we do?

The recommendation (although given from a religious worldview also must appeal to those who are secular) is so true:

Look rather to be “big-souled” in a a life of stable commitments that make the ordinary radical.

The author explains in a story like this. While this is a Catholic story, it must appeal to many people:

In order to sink down roots and transform the deep structures of culture, grace needs stable saints [fallible people who try hard] who remain quietly faithful in their little corner of creation, willing to face the limitless irritations of remaining in one place long so grace can thoroughly soak its surroundings. In an age of cultural A.D.D., we need saints [imperfect people] who attend long with love unto tedium, knowing that beneath the tedium lies the Tremendum [the mysterious and awe-inspiring].

I knew a priest in New Jersey who was very gifted and highly respected. He seemed to have all the makings of an ecclesiastical climber. One Spring his bishop transferred him from the chancery [Bishop’s office] to a small rural parish that needed a lot of help. He told me that after the announcement was made, one of his brother priests called him and said, “Wonder what you did wrong?” This priest said to me, “I know he was joking. But the truth is my first thought was, ‘I wonder what I did right.’ It’s why became a priest, to have my bones buried in a parish cemetary, not in a chancery.”

mmmm…. to “attend long with love unto tedium”. What do you think about that?

Here in our corner of Canada’s North we have a celebration each late winter called “Burning Away the Winter Blues”. Walkers join at dusk to walk along the water’s edge, pray for some glimpse of open water (this year we have had an early spring, and so plenty of it), and head toward a bonfire where they throw in an effigy aptly named Old Man Winter. The effigy’s have become more diverse and creative. This year it was a Woolly Mammoth made out of newspaper. Ysabeau called it a Wiggly Mammoth as it was carried by three or four puppeteers due to its size – and it certainly gave it the effect of looking quite “wiggly”.

Ethan was sick, and Xavier was asleep at home with Grandma, so we only had Ysabeau and Elise (our wonderful part-time nanny from Germany) with us. Ysabeau fell asleep for the walk only to wake up precisely at the moment when the effigy was being thrown into the fire! To say the least, she was a little disoriented.

Our newspaper had a a little write up in which one of the organizers highlighted the pagan elements she sees in this northern tradition we have. As a Catholic, I too can appreciate the truths of our human story found in many celebrations. As C.S. Lewis wrote (a devout Christian who might have become a Catholic) in an address to the Socratic Club at Oxford where he taught:

The Divine light, we are told, ‘lighteneth every man.’ We should, therefore, expect to find in the imagination of great Pagan teachers and myth makers some glimpse of that theme which we believe to be the very plot of the whole cosmic story—the theme of incarnation, death, and rebirth.”

So we followed this little celebration with one that holds immense importance for me. Easter!

I love a finely set table! Easter provides an opportunity for plenty of tablecloth and extra plates. Our friends had us over on Holy Thursday for example of what a Seder meal might be like. It was lovely.

What you see, of course, was not the whole meal (there was lamb, fish and more) but these aperitifs were symbolic of the passover; bitter herbs symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery the Jews endured in Ancient Egypt, a hard-boiled egg symbolizing the sacrifice made, and Charoset which is a pebbly paste of apple and nuts that represents the mortar used by Hebrew slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt.

We had 11 kids around 3 different tables. This only makes sense as the Seder meal, in Jewish homes, still has a focus on children. The presentation of these foods on the plate is meant to arouse their senses and curiosity – “Why is this night different from all other nights”.

{happy}

Zumba practice ( I am teaching bout twice a week now) is a family affair. You can see brother and sister in action here, and the baby as well.

We have these great Usborne Lift the Flap books (another recommendation from my friend Claire). Ysabeau is both fascinated and horrified by the Usborne Body Book.She doesn’t quite get the concept yet of what is on the inside. Holding the book she asks:

“What am I even doing here in this life?”

“Um, well….” [she caught me off guard with that one]

“Do I have blood vessels”

“Yes, you are a human being” [I was trying to keep it simple here)

“No I’m not. Jacob _____ isn’t human?” [a kid she knows from daycare who came across as more superhero than human]

“Oh yes he is.”

I love the train (or rather the “jump-on/jump-off bus”) of thought. But also equally glad I don’t have to sort this stuff out for myself on a daily basis. It must be exhausting.

{funny}

Continuing with Ethan’s growing interest in Saints (not easily distinguished from superheros at this point), he created a saint hotel (very cute). I love the Rules (I think that should read “no fighting”), and the list of guests.

I also appreciate the no dogs or cats – not a big fan of animal hair. But he loves them so I was a bit surprised by that one. Maybe he is aware that this is just a general rule in most hotels.

In our closet puppet theatre the kids asked for some Saint Hotel entertainment. I’m glad to see Pope Francis, Princess Somebody and Strawberry Shortcake in attendance. Good company.

Selfie?

{real}

Easter is obviously a wonderful season for celebrations in the church. Here are some scenes from Holy Thursday. Tradition sees the Bishop wash the feet of parishioners in imitation of Jesus at the Last Supper.

Once of my favorite times during the Easter Triduum is when the priest processes out of the church with the Eucharist into the special side chapel where people keep vigil through the night.

It’s all very ceremonial but also deeply meaningful. The only time our little parish gets a bit of good ol’ incense as well. If you wanna be a church, smell like a church.

I saved a quote from my favourite blog and it is helping me this week. This wise woman wrote about those (all of us at some point, like me) who run everywhere to try and create some sense of order, or maybe even excitement, all the while missing contentment by a long shot. This is how she suggests we find it:

Not running out the door! Not by being frantic! Not by trying to escape from home…They miss the most rewarding and fulfilling aspect of the family, which is the actual, somewhat mundane, activity of raising persons entrusted to your care: Love that is striving to build something lasting together, each person overcoming his own selfishness — controlling it, in fact — for the sake of the others.

On March break I took the older kids to Well-Read Books – a cozy second hand book store with a beautifully contained section that feels like a living room for kids. There are perfectly sized chairs for the wee ones and children’s books organized in manageable themes. And just the right amount of books – not too many. Sometimes at the library it feels like there is too much to choose from, especially when the baby has got lost somewhere in the “M-P Kids Fiction” isle and the toddler is fighting another kid for the barbie in the toy area (barbies in the library, really?).

We quite happily spent 45 minutes in this store looking at books and left with a stack priced at an average of $2 a piece. Score.

And then we retreated home and to the cozy the book nook that is a favorite get-away for everyone, when there seems like there is no place to just be alone.

{happy}

I also walked away with an old set of kids encyclopedias after inquiring if they had some. They gave me a partial set for $5 as no one is really looking for these anymore. In fact, its the same set I had as a kid!

I wanted them because every time Ethan has a question about something (Ethan: “When is the Earth going to explode?”. Me: “Do you mean the sun?”. Ethan: “No, I mean the Earth”) and I direct him to try and find out on his own, he asks to go on the internet.

Again, I am no Luddite but I am not a fan of this option. You should see the sites that come up when he enters “exploding earth” into google – and I guarantee he won’t pick the Wikipedia site but searches according to images leading him to some rather some apocalyptic site promoting a new escape pod.

So instead he gets some 90’s graphics but also some relatively accurate information about our aging sun (sans exploding earth).

We are trying to give Ysabeau at least one chore every day that she can do, so the 10 year old doesn’t feel like he is entirely singled out. She seems to enjoy cleaning the table, with an eye for spotlessness that only her mother can appreciate.

This book is a supposed to be a philosophical narrative rather than one of Barron’s easily digestible popular books. Nonetheless, I expect it will be delightfully manageable book compared to those of many great Catholic theologians.

For my secular friends who ask: Why would you be excited about this book? Because it will be a defense of why Catholicism is not simply a black and white solution for those who can’t handle the gray of life. Catholics hold to beliefs that are seeming opposites, held not in tension, but in a beautiful dance where harmony and balance is the outcome of a mesmerizing pas-de-deux.

Justice/mercy. God/man. Authority/liberty. Faith/reason. Corporateness/individualism. These are pairings that might seem contradictory, but ultimately can only make sense in relation to one another. In Catholicism, the answer is not a blending of the two but the unique suspension of ‘Both/And’, where the integrity of each aspect is honoured.

Personally, I find some many of the frustrations we have in society are created when we decide not to live in the (at times uncomfortable) dance of these disparate pairings, but rather choose one over the other.

For example, in fear of blending into an undefined corporateness in our families, schools or societies, we perhaps have overemphasized the role of the individual. Instead, I like this ‘Both/And’ approach. It is very sensible. Though it is most certainly a mystery, meaning we can grasp it but but it is certainly a less comfortable answer at first.

{funny}

My kids are serious about food.

My neighbour captured these great pics of Ysabeau trying to wink. I love the things we adults take for granted – I feel like patting myself on the back that I learned to do this when I see how hard it actually is to make it second nature.

{real}

I am so glad winter is almost over. Mostly because I am done with the icy puddle that is perpetually my entrance. I so happy with the layout our home except for this entrance area. I feel it was designed for a kid-less home. Here I am demonstrating what Ian likes to call “staging”. The things on the stairs might move – in the next century. I can’t figure out how to make this space work better.

But my friend shared with me a quote attributed to St. Teresa of Avila -“God walks even among the pots and pans.” The home is a sacred space.

I am increasingly happy with our office space which sits to at the top of this entrance area and is connected to the kitchen and dining area. Again, space is a premium here so I carefully calculate how each corner and nook can be used.

Here is our latest family pic. I credit Ian entirely. I had to share with you one of the trial shots as the camera was precariously balanced on the stroller and time-set so that Ian had to run back over to us each time. The final edition was only the 15th shot. The kids stayed remarkably silly composed.

There is a type of egg decorating that is not for the faint of heart: Pysanky. I was introduced to this art by the lovely ladies of Mary House. This is an ancient Ukrainian tradition. Eastern Christians have generally tackled this fine art during the reflective time of Lent.

I have read that the tradition has been passed down from mother to daughter. No kidding! My daughter, even at three, has some instinct to treat the egg preciously. There may be some careful boys out there but they don’t live in my house. My egg already has a crack in it from one young man. That’s OK. At the time of Lent – and as these are meant to symbolize the gift of life – the crack is also is a reminder of my own flaws and how these are part of each beautiful and unique person.

Historically, as part of the decorating process, the dyes, wax and stylus were brought out at night. I am guessing because precision is near impossible with kids around and the chance to work in quietness was probably a blessing – but I can imagine the difficulty of working on something as delicate at this by candlelight. Apparently, many eggs were made over the course of Lent. One site says enough were made for “ten or twenty for God children”. Ha! I have have two God children so I guess I am going to have to figure out how to make one more…maybe next year.

The process is sort of a reverse-painting. Hard to explain. The candle is used to burn away the wax that is put on at the beginning to preserve the lovely white lines you see here.

I am always disappointed (thought not surprised) at how often these days, chain franchises and even new businesses are opened without a thought given to aesthetics. I wish there was a beauty inspector who had to sign off on a certain level of aesthetic sense. I know it can beauty can cost but other times it can be easily achieved. A new grocer specializing in locally grown and crafted (baked goods) food has opened here called “Farmer Roberts”.

It is truly delightful and makes shopping an enjoyable experience (and not much more pricey).

{happy}

We don’t have many hard and fast rules in the house; I tend to make them up as I go along. But Ian and I are in strong agreement that pets are not part of our near future. For many reasons.

Ethan is mourning the loss of a potential pet badge at cubs, so I promised to bring him to the animal shelter to walk an animal now and then.

This is Sweetie. Yes, she is sweet – even I will admit. I enjoyed looking at my children through a glass window while they fed the little puppy. I asked the volunteer on duty if we could take a dog for a walk.

She took one look at me with my unruly 3 year old, my distracted 10 year old, and my baby with no socks on – clinging to me in distinct fear of the little baby animals all around us -and questioned whether we could really handle a “dog that pulls”. Point taken. She gave us Sophia who was actually really lovely and helped to ease us into the art of dog-walking. She was easy, compared to the bipeds in our group.

The accommodating volunteer had attached a second leash to Sophia after Ysabeau lost it when she saw that Ethan was given the main leash. I have a feeling Sophia was shaking her head inside, knowing this isn’t the greatest idea.

Nonetheless, I still categorize this outing as generally “happy”.

When Ethan arrived to live with us he had difficulty reading for more than 10 minutes (which I think is often common for 10 year old boys). He would became visibly depressed. My heart soars because today he is reading quite easily for 45 minutes and he just completed a read-a-thon at school which asked for 10 consecutive days of reading for more than 30 min per day.

We just finished reading some books from the fantastic New York best-selling series for kids. Check out the Who Was/ Who Is series. They are the answer to what I have been looking for. The classics are great but Ethan can only handle the Queen’s English for so long. And I simply must limit the graphic novel intake. These lovely little novelettes combine interesting and understandable prose with some lovely illustrations, and (speaking to my heart) a good deal of history.

He loves to read in this chair that leans so far back he almost hits the floor. I get a laugh out of seeing him here many evenings in his “old man” robe that he insists on wearing before bed.

{Funny}

Each winter, a big snow removal truck comes and pushes all the snow from the surrounding roads into a giant hill in the middle of our cul-de-sac. And I mean GIANT. You can get a sense of the size from the house on the right side of the photo. It is a essentially a homing beacon for most kids in the neighbourhood. The kid who has extreme-sport parents on the other street brought his dirt bike to ride down. My kids and the neighbour’s kids are fairly normal snow recreationalists.

But lo! One unassuming day while Ethan was at school, the dump truck and digger came – complicit in the city’s plan to eliminate any liability they may have in kids getting hurt on these mounds.

The picture below was taken from Ysabeau’s view from the window, who was excitably sending visible distress signals to the driver. She asked why it was being taken away. I explained that only in the Yukon do we enough snow that it is literally picked up by a dump truck and thrown away.

Toward the end of the snow removal process we got in the van to the rec centre and the driver of the digger pulled in close to us, rolled down his window, apologized to Ysabeau, and said that sometimes it is hard to do his job. Bless!

I was inspired by a friend who mentioned that when she has to rush out of the house because otherwise she will simply never get out – just grab the jar of PB and crackers – and presto! -instant snack at your final destination. Thanks for inspiring me. I suggest slamming down can of raisins for instant snack sophistication:)

I am glad that libraries don’t outlaw the PB.

Xav likes spaghetti.

{real}

I am of the mind that there should be a book written called The Marilla CuthburtStyle of Parenting – for all us parents who are graced with child who is an “Anne of Green Gables kindred -spirit”. These kids neither hide their disgust, or elation, at opportunity.

Ysabeau is most definitely an “Anne-girl”. As her daycare worker so aptly put it- “She has a flair for the dramatic”. I’ll say. I have endless amounts of “puffed-sleeves” and “depths of despair” moments in my future, and I take full genetic responsibility (well, half). I have no doubt I will find my daughter one day on the river reciting the Lady of Shalot in a shoddy old canoe.

For instance, what I thought was the time-old tradition of sharing the nativity story to Ysabeau at Christmas has turned into a multi-seasonal reenactment of Mary’s piety , head-covering and all (see below).

But I don’t think we give Marilla enough credit for her parenting wisdom. Her “stuff and nonsense” approach was perfect for a girl who struggled with self-control and perspective. In fact, despite their different personalities, they fall in love with one another. They change one another. Temper one one another.

So yes, I appreciate that times have changed and positive parenting styles are all the rage, but I think we can label Marilla’s style as positive (positive for children and teens prone to excessive drama and rashness) – and more importantly, one that suits her unique relationship with her foster child. I hope that Ysabeau and I were put together for a reason. I notice that I tend more toward Marilla’s style (as Anne did in some ways when she became a parent) and I hope there is some providence in that.

(For my non-Catholic friends this photo may seem quite alarming, as though someone is forcing her to do this. Believe me, she hasn’t see me do this at home and it came on totally impromptu. My friend who is travelling around Europe has a 5 year old son who is a little similar to Ysabeau, and on their visits to old churches and monasteries, he kneels down and bows over one knee like a medieval knight every time he enters a a church built before 1800. The atmosphere compels a response. Love it!).